Red, White, and Blue/Black Casserole

1 Large Eggplant

3 Large Tomatoes -- sliced 1/2-in thick

1 1/2 Pounds Mozzarella Cheese -- sliced 1/4-in thick

1 Large Onion -- sliced thin (optiona

Red, White, and Blue/Black Casserole (Eggplant casserole with tomato and cheese)

Cut the eggplant lengthwise once, then slice crosswise into semidisks about 3/4 inch thick.

In a shallow casserole dish (2 in deep), stand some slices of eggplant on the narrow cut edge, to make a row, then fol- low this with slices of tomato, then slices of mozzarella cheese. Repeat until the whole dish is full. It should appear from the top to have bands of red, white, and black.

Use your favorite seasoning (basil/oregano is the default), and bake until bubbly (about 25-30 minutes at 350 deg. F.

contributed by Richard Newman-Wolfe, University of Rochester, Rochester NY, Nemo@Rochester.ARPA, from The Victory Garden Cookbook(?)

Serves 4-6. 5 minutes preparation, 30 minutes to bake.

You may wish to put a layer of onions on the bottom, horizontally, before you put the eggplant in the pan.

This only works with European-style eggplant; Japanese and Asian eggplants are too narrow.